Exclusive: Interview with Invisible Men Filmmaker Angela Tucker

Angela Tucker is a dear friend and amazing filmmaker. I had a chance to interview her about a new film project called Invisible Men which part of the Masculinity Project.

Thanks to Angela for taking the time to speak with TakePart!

Wendy Cohen: Tell us about the Invisible Men component of the Masculinity project and how did you get involved with it?

Angela Tucker: As someone born and raised in New York, I have come in contact with homeless men and women my entire life. My childhood friend, Kim Gittens has worked at various homeless organizations throughout the city. Through her stories, she has revealed to me a clear and real face to an invisible population in this city, the homeless.

When I received The National Black Programming Consortium’s (NBPC) call for projects for The Masculinity Project -- an initiative for pieces that investigate the obstacles that black men encounter and celebrate the contributions they make -- I immediately began to think about what it means to be a man, a black man, when you are part of this population. I applied to NBPC for a grant to make these short pieces and was accepted.

WC: How did you meet them men featured in these 2 shorts?

AT: Kim works for Street to Home, a program that is part of a larger organization called Common Ground, which places homeless men and women in housing and works to keep them there. I partnered with this organization and together we identified Gregory and Andrew as good guys to interview.

WC: Tell us about why you chose the music and style that you did to tell their story.

AT: The creation of these pieces was a truly organic process, the pieces being formulated by the ideas they brought up. I was most interested in having Andrew and Gregory speak about their lives in their own words. We conducted audio interviews first and, after transcribing them, chose the most evocative moments. On Super 8mm, we filmed objects, moments, anything that corresponded to the stories they told. For music, I was looking for atmospheric music that had a jazz feel to it. Creative Commons has an incredible music site and I was fortunate to find some great (and free) music by up and coming musicians.

WC: What do you hope these shorts inspire and what are some specific actions viewers can take?

AT: I hope these shorts get people to look at the homeless in a different way and, more importantly, to dispel stereotypes. The reasons why or how someone became homeless are complicated. This was the biggest thing I learned from both Gregory and Andrew. It is a chain of difficult situations and it is a more difficult life than I imagined.

Simply being more compassionate is a good first step for most people.
Some concrete actions you can take are to volunteer at your local soup kitchen or homeless shelter.

WC: How do you TakePart?

AT: Overall, homelessness is not an issue covered sufficiently in the media. For me, the act of making these pieces helped me see this issue in a whole new light.

If you live in New York City, Street to Home responds to 311 calls so if you see someone who you think is experiencing homelessness, you should call 311 with the exact address. After the initial call, it is helpful to check back with 311 especially if you have known about the person for a while as you may be able to offer some insight or help, no matter how great or small the info is. It remains an intimate affair - person to person to person and homeless outreach needs all of the positive community involvement it can get.

Angela Tucker is a writer, director, producer. She is the Director of Production at Big Mouth Films, a social issue documentary production company that is a project of Arts Engine, Inc. There, she produced the Emmy-nominated documentary, Deadline and worked in various production capacities on the documentaries, Election Day and Beyond the Steps: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. She currently is directing a feature length documentary about asexuality and producing a film about a mother and daughter's reunion after many years separated by conflict in the Congo. Angela received her MFA in Film from Columbia University and her BA in Theater and African American Studies from Wesleyan University. Born and raised in New York, her writing has appeared on MediaRights and The Independent. Learn more about her on her website, Tuckergurl.